Historical Note

Scope and Content

The Community Improvement Appraisal Committee, originally under the jurisdiction of the planning board, came under the joint direction of the board and the Public Works Administration. Sumner Margetts, the acting chairman of the Utah State Planning Board, was one of its members. The committee's purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of federal relief programs throughout the state. Concerned that federal aid might be detrimental to morale or public enterprise, the committee generated statistics and requested reports from sources outside of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) or the Public Works Administration (PWA). These records include the committee minutes, reports created by the committee, reports received from individual municipalities and countries, and correspondence.